St. Patrick takes last-minute win over Marist
Estrada’s 26-yard free kick goal is the difference in 3-2 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sebastian Estrada is a dreamy romantic about the wonder of playing beautiful soccer.
St. Patrick’s dynamic and creative forward is also a cold realist who understands sometimes things conspire against you.
“Soccer is soccer, and anything can happen,” he said.
Estrada put an exhilarating finish to a great game with a beautiful left-footed free kick from the right wing in the 80th minute for a 3-2 victory over Marist at Read-Dunning stadium in East Suburban Catholic play Monday night.
The game-winner came from 26 yards. In the lead-up to his goal, Estrada saw two critical scoring chances seemingly destined as game-winning shots repelled by the post.
For his performance, Estrada earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
The initial shot was a sharp volley by Jorge Para; the follow-up was a rebound header by Jason Torres.
“We were a bit unlucky,” Estrada said.
He was also cognizant of the time and took matters into his own hands.
Following the two balls off the post, the ball was played out to the wing. Estrada had the wherewithal to sustain that pressure.
Knocked to the ground, he was awarded the free kick.
Estrada and midfielder Ivan Guerrero each stood over the ball, creating an illusion against Marist keeper Vinnie Tuminello as they stood addressing the ball on the right edge.
“We are both left-footed, so it is really hard to tell from that side who is really going to shoot the ball,” Estrada said.
“We communicated on who really wanted the last ball, but I felt like I could put it in.”
His left-footed blast had wicked spin and whipped under the diving chest of Tuminello at the near post with just 51 seconds remaining.
That was seemingly the game, but Marist refused to give up that easily.
The RedHawks (3-2-0, 1-1-0) mounted several sharp forward attacks into the final third, working the left edge of the box. In the closing seconds, midfielder Liam Bennett was awarded a free kick from the left edge, from about 22 yards.
Bennett had scored on a penalty kick in the first half. He is the RedHawks’ top player, a skilled and gifted midfielder with a great touch.
He played the ball into the box. St. Patrick keeper Bryant Alvarez knocked it back, only to see streaking midfielder Marc Carreon making a run untouched. It seemed a set-up for the textbook rebound goal into an open net.
But Carreon slightly mistimed his run and ran past the angle of the rebound. St. Patrick cleared the ball as time ran out.
Alvarez had seven saves. At just 5-foot-8, he is not an overpowering physical presence. He moves well and has great reaction to the ball.
Alvarez was thrilled by the opportunity to redeem what he regarded as a “blunder,” just minutes before on a free kick goal.
Carreon stunned the Shamrocks with the score from 45 yards in the 76th minute that knotted the score at 2-2.
“It was a miscommunication with my defender, but it wasn’t his fault,” Alvarez said. “I am going to take full responsibility for my actions.
“I let the team down.”
His alert final stop made up for the previous goal.
“It was the last seconds, the score was 3-2, and this was the last free kick of the game,” Alvarez said. “This was for all the marbles. I told myself it all counts, I took a deep breath, and I said 'This is our game.'”
The RedHawks on separate occasions fell behind, only to create their own equalizers.
The game also illustrated why the East Suburban Catholic Conference is an elite league. In the 2019 season, St. Patrick finished fourth in Class 3A. Benet won the Class AA state title.
Marist deprived St. Patrick of a share of the conference championship with Benet last season by playing the Shamrocks to a draw.
Marist returns six starters and several key reserves from a Class AA sectional finalist.
“Things could have bounced a little differently for us,” Marist coach Sean Maxwell said. “It was a battle. You have to give them credit.
“They’re a great team, and we are getting there.”
St. Patrick (2-0-0, 2-0-0) showed great fluidity and movement in the beautiful night air and wide-open spaces of their home field.
Marist willingly played into the wind in the first half to enjoy the advantage in the second half.
“That is the chance you take giving up the wind at the beginning, but we battled through it and we knew we had a good chance in the second half,” Maxwell said.
St. Patrick was aggressive and sharp from the start. Just before his goal, Buelvas hit a rocket ball from about 30 yards that hit the bar.
Defender Narcizo Ibarra, the team’s best two-way player, was superb at controlling the attack from the back and creating pincer movements for the middle attackers in breaking down the RedHawks.
“Our game plan was to play to win and attack,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “We knew they were good enough to probably score a goal or two.
“They have some very good offensive players, and we are just playing with three in the back. Our objective was simply to score more, and we did that.”
Estrada and Buelvas have taken on a greater scoring burden after three-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state forward Joshua Torres was deemed unable to play this year.
The UIC recruit, who scored 40 goals and added 19 assists last year, remains remote-only academically due to health and safety concerns. St. Patrick policy does not permit those students to participate in athletic competition.
Torres scored 80 goals and 55 career assists in a remarkable three-year career that included two state finals appearances.
St. Patrick scored a school-record 128 goals in 2019, averaging four goals per game. Nine of the 16 players who scored goals are back.
Buelvas had 15 goals and six assists; Estrada had 12 goals and five assists.
“Jaden and I are the only seniors who are up-top in our attack,” Estrada said. “Our teammates look up to us, and we do as much as we can.
“The younger guys who look up at us just show our passion for the game. Having a young team like this is something special.”
Buelvas said the key was maintaining their composure, even when pressed by the gifted RedHawks.
“We have to always keep a positive mindset, even if we are losing or the game is tied,” Buelvas said. “Things like that do happen; and I just wanted to make sure that nobody had their head down, because that would not have helped anyone.
“Once everybody’s head was up, that led to better soccer, and it led to the late goal.”
Marist plays Benet on Wednesday, and the Shamrocks travel to Niles to play Notre Dame.
McClure knows the sample size is small, but in outline he sees a young team coming of age.
“We had a really strong senior class last season, and now we have a really young team,” McClure said. “We have six freshmen and seven sophomores.
“You never know how they are going to respond in a game like this. You’re up and then you give up a goal with four minutes to play and then come back and score a goal two minutes later. I think that tells a lot about this team.”
Starting lineups
Marist
GK: Vinnie Tuminello
D: Kevin Brennan
D: Samuel McNamara
D: Collin McGuire
D: Michael McClorey
MF: Marc Anthony Carreon
MF: Liam Bennett
MF: Jimmy Valek
MF: Conor Cook
MF: Christian Chavez
F: Max Lacey
St. Patrick
GK: Bryant Alvarez
D: Xavi Gamez
D: Narcizo Ibarra
D: Gael Quinonez
MF: Jorge Para
MF: Nicholas Leon
MF: Ivan Guerrero
MF: Rafael Rios
MF: Jake Lane
F: Jaden Buelvas
F: Sebastian Estrada
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sebastian Estrada, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick—Jaden Buelvas (Daniel Carrera), 16th minute
Marist—Liam Bennett (PK), 21st minute
Second half
St. Patrick—Sebastian Estrada (Buelvas), 64th minute
Marist—Marc Anthony Carreon (free kick), 76th minute
St. Patrick—Estrada (free kick), 80th minute
Estrada’s 26-yard free kick goal is the difference in 3-2 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Sebastian Estrada is a dreamy romantic about the wonder of playing beautiful soccer.
St. Patrick’s dynamic and creative forward is also a cold realist who understands sometimes things conspire against you.
“Soccer is soccer, and anything can happen,” he said.
Estrada put an exhilarating finish to a great game with a beautiful left-footed free kick from the right wing in the 80th minute for a 3-2 victory over Marist at Read-Dunning stadium in East Suburban Catholic play Monday night.
The game-winner came from 26 yards. In the lead-up to his goal, Estrada saw two critical scoring chances seemingly destined as game-winning shots repelled by the post.
For his performance, Estrada earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
The initial shot was a sharp volley by Jorge Para; the follow-up was a rebound header by Jason Torres.
“We were a bit unlucky,” Estrada said.
He was also cognizant of the time and took matters into his own hands.
Following the two balls off the post, the ball was played out to the wing. Estrada had the wherewithal to sustain that pressure.
Knocked to the ground, he was awarded the free kick.
Estrada and midfielder Ivan Guerrero each stood over the ball, creating an illusion against Marist keeper Vinnie Tuminello as they stood addressing the ball on the right edge.
“We are both left-footed, so it is really hard to tell from that side who is really going to shoot the ball,” Estrada said.
“We communicated on who really wanted the last ball, but I felt like I could put it in.”
His left-footed blast had wicked spin and whipped under the diving chest of Tuminello at the near post with just 51 seconds remaining.
That was seemingly the game, but Marist refused to give up that easily.
The RedHawks (3-2-0, 1-1-0) mounted several sharp forward attacks into the final third, working the left edge of the box. In the closing seconds, midfielder Liam Bennett was awarded a free kick from the left edge, from about 22 yards.
Bennett had scored on a penalty kick in the first half. He is the RedHawks’ top player, a skilled and gifted midfielder with a great touch.
He played the ball into the box. St. Patrick keeper Bryant Alvarez knocked it back, only to see streaking midfielder Marc Carreon making a run untouched. It seemed a set-up for the textbook rebound goal into an open net.
But Carreon slightly mistimed his run and ran past the angle of the rebound. St. Patrick cleared the ball as time ran out.
Alvarez had seven saves. At just 5-foot-8, he is not an overpowering physical presence. He moves well and has great reaction to the ball.
Alvarez was thrilled by the opportunity to redeem what he regarded as a “blunder,” just minutes before on a free kick goal.
Carreon stunned the Shamrocks with the score from 45 yards in the 76th minute that knotted the score at 2-2.
“It was a miscommunication with my defender, but it wasn’t his fault,” Alvarez said. “I am going to take full responsibility for my actions.
“I let the team down.”
His alert final stop made up for the previous goal.
“It was the last seconds, the score was 3-2, and this was the last free kick of the game,” Alvarez said. “This was for all the marbles. I told myself it all counts, I took a deep breath, and I said 'This is our game.'”
The RedHawks on separate occasions fell behind, only to create their own equalizers.
The game also illustrated why the East Suburban Catholic Conference is an elite league. In the 2019 season, St. Patrick finished fourth in Class 3A. Benet won the Class AA state title.
Marist deprived St. Patrick of a share of the conference championship with Benet last season by playing the Shamrocks to a draw.
Marist returns six starters and several key reserves from a Class AA sectional finalist.
“Things could have bounced a little differently for us,” Marist coach Sean Maxwell said. “It was a battle. You have to give them credit.
“They’re a great team, and we are getting there.”
St. Patrick (2-0-0, 2-0-0) showed great fluidity and movement in the beautiful night air and wide-open spaces of their home field.
Marist willingly played into the wind in the first half to enjoy the advantage in the second half.
“That is the chance you take giving up the wind at the beginning, but we battled through it and we knew we had a good chance in the second half,” Maxwell said.
St. Patrick was aggressive and sharp from the start. Just before his goal, Buelvas hit a rocket ball from about 30 yards that hit the bar.
Defender Narcizo Ibarra, the team’s best two-way player, was superb at controlling the attack from the back and creating pincer movements for the middle attackers in breaking down the RedHawks.
“Our game plan was to play to win and attack,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “We knew they were good enough to probably score a goal or two.
“They have some very good offensive players, and we are just playing with three in the back. Our objective was simply to score more, and we did that.”
Estrada and Buelvas have taken on a greater scoring burden after three-time Chicagoland Soccer all-state forward Joshua Torres was deemed unable to play this year.
The UIC recruit, who scored 40 goals and added 19 assists last year, remains remote-only academically due to health and safety concerns. St. Patrick policy does not permit those students to participate in athletic competition.
Torres scored 80 goals and 55 career assists in a remarkable three-year career that included two state finals appearances.
St. Patrick scored a school-record 128 goals in 2019, averaging four goals per game. Nine of the 16 players who scored goals are back.
Buelvas had 15 goals and six assists; Estrada had 12 goals and five assists.
“Jaden and I are the only seniors who are up-top in our attack,” Estrada said. “Our teammates look up to us, and we do as much as we can.
“The younger guys who look up at us just show our passion for the game. Having a young team like this is something special.”
Buelvas said the key was maintaining their composure, even when pressed by the gifted RedHawks.
“We have to always keep a positive mindset, even if we are losing or the game is tied,” Buelvas said. “Things like that do happen; and I just wanted to make sure that nobody had their head down, because that would not have helped anyone.
“Once everybody’s head was up, that led to better soccer, and it led to the late goal.”
Marist plays Benet on Wednesday, and the Shamrocks travel to Niles to play Notre Dame.
McClure knows the sample size is small, but in outline he sees a young team coming of age.
“We had a really strong senior class last season, and now we have a really young team,” McClure said. “We have six freshmen and seven sophomores.
“You never know how they are going to respond in a game like this. You’re up and then you give up a goal with four minutes to play and then come back and score a goal two minutes later. I think that tells a lot about this team.”
Starting lineups
Marist
GK: Vinnie Tuminello
D: Kevin Brennan
D: Samuel McNamara
D: Collin McGuire
D: Michael McClorey
MF: Marc Anthony Carreon
MF: Liam Bennett
MF: Jimmy Valek
MF: Conor Cook
MF: Christian Chavez
F: Max Lacey
St. Patrick
GK: Bryant Alvarez
D: Xavi Gamez
D: Narcizo Ibarra
D: Gael Quinonez
MF: Jorge Para
MF: Nicholas Leon
MF: Ivan Guerrero
MF: Rafael Rios
MF: Jake Lane
F: Jaden Buelvas
F: Sebastian Estrada
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sebastian Estrada, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick—Jaden Buelvas (Daniel Carrera), 16th minute
Marist—Liam Bennett (PK), 21st minute
Second half
St. Patrick—Sebastian Estrada (Buelvas), 64th minute
Marist—Marc Anthony Carreon (free kick), 76th minute
St. Patrick—Estrada (free kick), 80th minute